The corollary to knowing one’s conditioning is to know about oneself. The kernel of all philosophical and spiritual teachings can be expressed in this ultimate dictum: “Know thyself!” This is an ongoing process to which there are no fixed and easy paths that can readily be pointed out.
First and foremost: to thy own self be true is our primary mandate, which requires knowing the self. Conscious living and evolution would require us to inquire into who we are and why we are here. The journey entails dropping the false self, and that which stands in the way of realizing one’s real essence.
Therefore, what is needed at first is to realize that we’re not our conditioning and life situations. This can be done via negativa by removing what is not-self with all its obstacles and distractions. And yet those of us who grasp this on an intellectual level still struggle with its deep and far-reaching ramifications in our day to day existence. It is not a truism that is embodied and lived, which is where all suffering and challenges arise.
The journey of self-discovery starts with knowing what and who you are not. Arriving at truth through un-truth – to what is through what is not. And the path to self-mastery begins with renouncing wrong identification with that which is not you. The more distance and space between yourself and your thoughts and emotions, the more control you gain over them without having to exert control.
Essentials on the path:
- Authenticity
- Brutal Honesty
- Recognition of sources and levels of conditioning
